Discordia
by Swiggle
Summary: Megabyte’s “Hunt” has left Mainframe only a shadow of its former self, and resources, and firepower to use against the him are running thin. However the tides begin to turn in Mainframe’s favour when Megabyte loses track of a certain “insurance policy"
1. 000 Prelude

A/N: I do not own ReBoot or any of its characters, they belong to their respective owners. I _do_ however own any original characters that happen to appear. Enjoy!

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**Discordia – 000  
Prelude**

Erratic heart rate.

Accelerated breathing.

Wide, frightened eyes.

All signs of panic and frenzy (have to escape nownownow**now**). Ears picked up the sounds of approaching zip boards and quickly it brought a hand up to cover it's own mouth. As if that would stop the sound of its own breathing. Maybe it did stop breathing. Holding it's breath for that moment. A moment that seemed to drag on forever as the team of frantically searching viral binomes flew overhead. The figure could feel the muscles in it's legs and arms tense and start to cramp in that crouching position. Stress and panic had kept it there in that spot for seconds. The surroundings it found itself in were foreign. The figure hadn't expected for it to be this difficult to navigate outside the Silicon Tor.

More so, it didn't expect the amount of vast destruction. Debris from fallen buildings. Small fires that never really got a chance to stop burning, or rather, there was little or no binobes to do the job. Nulls scurrying around every corner, not even a shadow of their former selves. The scene painted before any moral person's eyes was hard to take in, hard to look at. The city seemed to personify the suffering of those living within it's borders. The distant terrified screams and pained moans were hard to ignore. However the figure could not afford to distract itself with such things now. (I've come too far – cantgetcaughtnow)

Virals were littered all over the sector. To say Megabyte's displeasure was known quite possibility was the understatement of the hour. His voice still rang clearly in the runaway's ears, and it caused a shudder to race up and down its spine. (Fear – it brings us back to the most primal of instincts)

The figure was almost undetectable amongst the shadows cast by debris.

Keyword being..._Almost_.

"There!"

Heart almost stopped.

A beat.

"Grab her!"

Then charging out of the shadows the girl ran.

And didn't stop.

All the virals could see was her retreating back before she ducked into another allyway.

"Don't just stand there! After her!"

"Yes sir!" a number of binomes replied

Even with adrenaline pumping, she ran the events of the last few nanoseconds through her mind. ---Running as fast as her legs could carry her, not daring to stop for a moment, twisting and turning down the halls of the Silicon Tor. Away from _that_ place. She'd been planning this escape for an age. She wasn't going to give in now. She wouldn't, couldn't fail. Even the shrill voice of the Doctor calling after her, calling for guards, _him_, she didn't pause. No hesitation.

Don't look back – Never look back.---

--Back to the present, she may have memorized the layout for the Tor, but nothing could prepare her for what the outside world held.

She'd never been outside before.

With that thought...

...She smiled.

---

End 000


	2. 001 When Hope Wears Thin

A/N: Once again I do not own ReBoot or any of it's characters, the belong to their respective and talented creators. Any original characters that happen to appear in this story are belong to me.

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**Discordia – 001  
When Hope Wears Thin**

A particularily loud crack of thunder did little to help the headache that was already pounding in Dot's temples. Her face was illuminated by the series of VidWindows displaying various odds and ends of information all at once. The rain patting methodically against the window beside her booth in the diner was calming, almost welcome compared to the bedlam that was inside with her. It was so tempting to just rest her head against the cool glass, just for a moment. Let her heavy lids close, just for a nanosecond. Instead she opted to run a hand through her hair and massage her temple. She couldn't afford to doze off. Not now.

The diner, much to Cecil's dismay, had become the new makeshift war room. It was no match for the one the Principal Office offered, but that was something they would have to deal with. She quickly pushed that thought from her mind, it made her feel sick to her stomach to think about Megabyte having control over the Principal office. After all it was only a matter of time before he broke the codes keeping him from the Core. That thought in itself gave her chills,

_We can hardly beat him as it is—No, that's no way for a Matrix to think..._

Dot cast her gaze over the diner, younger Enzo waiting for his heroes to come home—Mouse working on a VidWindow—Cecil complaining about one thing or another -- military personnel rushing about everywhere, always preparing for the next raid, the next attack, next fight—This wasn't right, weren't they supposed to be happy? Wasn't she just reunited with her father? Wasn't she supposed to be married to Bob? As if oarrn cue a cheerful ring of a bell announced the arrival of Matrix and Bob returning from the recon mission. It took her a moment to register the green blur that past her before,

"Enzo! No!"

It was too late. She winced as Enzo made contact with Matrix and they slid across the ground. Their was a pang of nostalgia for the times when Matrix used to do the same to Bob, things were so much simpler then. Those times seemed so far away. These days, she felt trapped, nowhere to turn. She wanted to run somewhere To her father, but they failed to rescue him out of the Principal Office when they all escaped. She could rush to Phong for answers either, not with him slowly recovering from the injuries he'd received after putting defences up on the core. The virus was too fast, Phong had almost been deleted, would've been if Matrix and AndrAIa weren't there. Dot couldn't even confide in Bob anymore. Every time she looked at him she was overwhelmed with guilt. She chose the fake Bob, she chose Megabyte over the real Bob.

She could never forgive herself. Dot couldn't even begin to understand why he didn't hate her. He still was the same happy guardian, perhaps made a bit wiser through his travels in the web. She was hardly deserving of it. She resented him for it, she just wanted to see him angry. That would at least justify the pain, the guilt that was tearing at her chest.

"Dot?" Bob's familiar voice, it had been restored when he was reunited with the code the virus had stole, she hated the fact that all it made her think about was Megabyte "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" All she could hear was Magebyte (lieslieslieslies)

"Yes, I'm fine."

"When was the last time you had a break, sis?" Matrix had walked up and joined the conversation with AndrAIa at his hip.

"Do you think we can afford to take _breaks_?" She slammed her hands down on the table for empathise. Dot immediately felt horrid, her tone came out harsher than it meant to, "I'm fine. Really."

"Overworking does no one any good, Dot." AndrAIa said

Dot gave her a look that clearly said the conversation was over before turning to her brother, she couldn't bare to face Bob, not right now, "Did you find anything?"

Bob and Matrix exchanged a look, before Matrix gave a laboured sigh and complied to his sister's wishes, "No. Well, not really..."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"We haven't been able to find a reason Megabyte has stopped his assault. However we do know that he is sending various patrols to Level 31."

"Level 31?" Dot raised an eyebrow, "What's in Level 31 that needs a regular patrol?"

"Yeah, we thought it was strange too." Bob jumped in, "Unless they aren't patrolling..."

"...they're searching..." Dot finished, her mind racing, "But what..."

"I couldn't tell you."

"Well _if_ they are searching for something. Wouldn't it be a good idea to find whatever it is before he does?" AndrAIa said.

"But what could be in Level 31, that he doesn't already have? Megabyte has always had control of that sector?" Dot asked.

"We should do a little searching of-"

"No." Dot interrupted her brother, "It's dangerous enough sending scouting teams for short amount of time. We cant afford to take the risk of doing a search."

"It's war, sugar." Mouse approached them, obviously listening in on the conversation, "You have to take risks if you want to win. You know that."

"This time it's different. We don't even have the Principal Office anymore." A pause, "Level 31 is off limits until further notice."

"Dot."

"I mean it little brother."

AndrAIa put a hand on Matrix's shoulder, leaning up to his ear she whispered, "Let it go, for now."

He looked at her hard, searching her eyes for some sort of answer he couldn't seem to find, he didn't look happy about it, but he caved and turned on his heel to go else where. Dot gave her a silent thank you as she took her seat amongst the VidWindows once more. AndrAIa took this as a dismissal, and was quick to follow after Matrix's retreating back.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

"Yes, Bob. I just need time." There was more subtext in that than either of them knew, she still couldn't meet his eyes.

"Alright." He looked disappointed, or at least that's how she imagined it, "I'll be here if you need me."

She heard him walk off in the direction of Matrix and AndrAIa, the only left remaining was Mouse. She knew the sprite well enough by now to know what exactly what she wanted to talk about.

"Alright say it."

"You need to forgive yourself, Dot." She said, "No one could tell the difference."

"It doesn't matter! I chose Megabyte over Bob, based on ... on _appearance_ and _availability_. I chose the wrong Bob!"

"We were all fooled, sugar. And Bob doesn't hold it against you."

"I know..."

"I sense a 'but' there."

"But... I wish he did. It would make me feel better, know that all this is justified."

"Dot, Bob _loves_ you. And you love him don't you?"

Hesitation.

"I don't know how I feel anymore."

Mouse was effectively struck speechless, "Dot... you-"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." With that she went back to working on her VidWindows.

---

End 001

A/N: I know the chapters so far have been quite short. This is being done on purpose. They will get longer, much longer I assure you. In the meantime, please bear with me. And leave me a review while you are at it. It'll mean a lot to me.


	3. 002 Risky Buisness

A/N: ReBoot or any of its characters do not belong to me. They are copyrighted to their respective owners. Any Original Characters however belong to me.

---

**Discordia 002  
Risky Business **

"Just sitting here is accomplishing nothing."

Matrix was unsettled, if Dot wasn't his sister he might've put up more of a fight than he had, regardless of AndrAIa's wishes. However the thought of Megabyte finding something else that would give him another advantage infuriated him. It was eating at him from the inside. There was just something not right. He had to be looking for something of importance. Why else would Megabyte stop his offense, this was the virus's revenge wasn't it?

"What if Dot's right, Lover?" AndrAIa said, leaning back into him, they were sitting in a booth on the other side of the Diner, there was no need to worry about anyone overhearing them, "What if it is too much of a risk?"

"We've had worse odds stacked against us."

AndrAIa went quiet; of course she knew he was right. They were both there when the system crashed. There was only a slim chance Bob's plan would work, and they went ahead with it anyways. In Matrix's eyes this situation was no different. It was the same old shit different day, "You agree with me. Don't pretend like it's otherwise."

The female sprite put her hands up in mock surrender, "I was just playing the virus's advocate."

"Well _don't_."

"Getting worked up over things won't solve them, Enzo." Bob said, sliding into the seats across from them.

"_Matrix_." He corrected, "And neither will sitting here."

Bob let a sigh escape his lips, "I know. Which is why I think we should go for it."

"Finally."

"What about Dot?" AndrAIa said, "If she finds out she'll be mad enough to Nullify us all."

"Which is why Dot is not going to find out." Bob said, "We'll keep the team to just us three and we'll be back before she misses us."

"What are you guys doing?"

Matrix would've let out a groan if he wasn't within AndrAIa's striking distance. The younger version of himself reminded him of an eager puppy at the moment, staring at him with his large, pleading eyes. He never used to be like that. There were so many things he could've said many of which were variations of 'Get Lost' though he doubted that would go over well in present company. He liked the kid well enough on a good day, despite the fact that he reminded him of a time he'd rather forget. However, it was unfortunate for his younger sibling he came across him in a bad mood, and that they were occurring increasingly often these days. AndrAIa must've sensed this on some level because she was moving away from him and towards the young sprite.

"Well, I don't know about them," AndrAIa said, offering Little Enzo a warm smile, "But I was just about to go watch an episode of Mainframe Strolling Players. Would you like to join me?"

Matrix knew all about his younger brother's jealously over his lifestyle, his girlfriend, his Gun, and apparently so did AndrAIa, because the little sprite perked up almost immediately. He supposed on some level he felt sorry for the little sprite, he too had been in his position after all. Feeling like no one would even spare him a second glance. Surrounded by adults. Yet, for the most part he held firm that if Enzo wanted to get anywhere, he'd had to toughen up.

"Alphanumeric!"

He _hated_ that phrase.

"Alright then lead the way, Little Matrix." AndrAIa was laying it on thick, as she left with Enzo tugging her hand she looked over her shoulder and winked before mouthing the words, 'Go Now'

The woman was a saint. There was no other explanation.

Bob and himself didn't waste any time before getting up and leaving out the back door with ZipBoards in hand.

---

The lowest part of Mainframe, Level 31 was never a great place to be. It didn't matter how tough someone thought they were, it paid to be cautious. Even in times when Mainframe was flourishing in times of peace this place was full of degenerates of all kinds. There was only one law in place here, survival of the fittest and perhaps the cunning. Now that things had turned over to Megabyte the place had gotten worse. Destruction was as rampant and the viral patrols. Bob was getting tired of having to avoid so many patrols, or were they search parties? They were headed for Al's Eat and Wait, one place he knew there was relative safety, of course there was stress on the relative. Dot owned it, so hopefully Al, or at least his waiter would be willing to give them even a scrap of information. It was a gamble at best, the clientele were always a rough crowd. He hoped En--... _Matrix_ wouldn't stir up any commotion of the sake of it.

Smoothly the two entered the bar, Bob felt every binome's eyes on the pair of them. He paid no attention to them, or at least he tired, he couldn't help but look around at first to see what they were dealing with. They were lucky, if you could say that, there were no virals as far as he could see at the moment. He rationalized that Megabyte had them all on patrol duty. After a moment the two sprites made a beeline to Al's waiter.

"Hey, we need you to answer a few questions, okay?" Bob said

"...Just, wait a moment." The waiter replied in his trademark tempo, "Hey... Al! Bob wants to ask, a few questions?"

"What?!" Came the familiar call from the back.

"I said,... Bob wants us to answer a few questions."

"What?!"

"Bob want—"

"Or you could answer them." Bob said, he didn't want to stay here any longer than he had to.

"...What did you want to-"

Matrix was getting impatient with he slow pace the other spoke, "Megabtye's been sending more patrols down here recently. Do know anything about it yes or no?"

It took awhile for the binome to answer, and it wasn't due to his speaking tempo, it was hesitation, "No."

Before Bob could stop him the green sprite had his gun trained on the now terrified binome his voice lowered to a growl, "We're not stupid."

The waiter was trembling with his arms raised defensively, "I-I'm ..not lying. It's just ... I'm not sure if was even worth... mentioning."

Bob motioned for Matrix to put Gun down, "Any bit of information helps."

More hesitation, Bob could feel Matrix's agitation growing, "Well...it might be nothing...but," the binome chewed on his ever present toothpick, "there is this girl..."

"And?" Matrix said, Bob thought he was going to lose it any second.

"...she's a small...little sprite, comes by often..."

"Did you say sprite?" Bob asked, the only Sprites in Mainframe were the one's back at Dot's Diner, Matrix and himself. All the others were nullified in the destruction of the Twin Cities.

"Yeah... young too. Comes by looking for work in exchange for ...shelter and food." He said, "She...never stays in one place very...long though... only stayed a night or two... Either way, she doesn't look like the kind of person to be down here... you know what I mean?"

Bob nodded in replied, Matrix crossed his arms, "What does this have to do with Megabyte?"

"Maybe nothing...Though she did mention she's... running from someone, but... you get that.. a lot down here." The waiter said, "...She looked kind of harmless..."

"So you doubt, Megabyte would be looking for her?" Matrix said.

"Yeah. Right, Al?"

"What?!"

The two sprites sighed.

It was back to square one.

---

End 002

A/N: Please leave a review if you have the time. : ) It would mean a lot if you could help me improve!


	4. 003 Found

A/N: I do not own ReBoot or any of its characters they belong to their respected and talented creators.

JiangShi: As you didn't leave a signed review I couldn't reply to you right away, so I will do so here. :) Thank you so much for your review, I'm glad you liked the character interactions I spend a lot of time to make sure I get them just right. Once again thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, they really do mean a lot to me.

I would also like to take the time to mention that I have updated my profile to include a section regarding requests. If you want me to write a request for you, check it out.

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**Discordia 003  
Found**

She took delicate steps towards the semi-familiar place, always so careful, mustn't make a sound. She had grown used to navigating the maze-like structure of the alleys of the place she now called her home. She felt disgusting walking through grime and other things she'd rather not identify. Her bare feet were caked, with one form of muck or another. This was no place someone such as herself should be. Even she knew that, however she'd rather take her chances out here rather than... _that_ _place _she was before. Everything was dark; any street light that was available was either dead or dying. Her legs ached, battered and bruised with how many times she'd hastily ducked for cover behind the debris that littered almost every part of the place she'd found herself in. _What happened to this place?_ The clothing she was in didn't help matters either, she needed to find new ones to download, somewhere. All she had was the small t-shirt dress that she wore back _there_. It hardly covered her arms. The girl hadn't known what it'd be like out here. The cloth offered her no warm, or protection. It was next to useless.

She stumbled slightly tripping over a rock she hadn't been looking for. She bit down on her lip sharply to cut off the cry of pain. She couldn't even risk breathing too loud let alone let out a cry of pain. The girl froze in position, and waited. She held in her breath, terrified that one of her pursuers might have heard her.

Nanoseconds passed.

Nothing.

Slow, steady exhale – a beat later she was moving once more.

She wasn't prepared for any of this.

Which is probably why she found herself outside _this_ place again. The people there had been glad to give her food and shelter once before. She could only hope they would be just as generous a second time. She had her doubts about returning to a place she'd already been, however she found that she had little choice. This was one of the only places ..._those people_... didn't seem to be very often. Slowly, carefully she approached the rusted red back door.

A moment's hesitation.

She flinched back from the door. It groaned loudly as it opened.

"...Back again?" there was a note of surprise in the other's voice.

Too late for cold feet now; she nodded.

"....Come on in...I'll get you something to eat."

---

There comes a time when one questions if what one is doing is even worth it in the end.

That's what both Matrix and Bob were questioning as they made their not so triumphant return to Dot's Diner. The only piece of semi-valuable information was the one they received from Al's waiter, and even then they were no closer to finding out what Megabyte was searching for. In Matrix's mind the whole trip turned out to be a blatant waste of time. Bob of course disagreed with him, as he often did nowadays, they learned about a sprite girl who was obviously in some sort of trouble. Matrix still thought it was a waste of time, sending a rescue party would only serve as a way to use up more resources they could be using against Megabyte. To make matters worse, when Matrix roughly pushed the door out of his way, causing the belling to ring harshly (he had to take his frustration out on something) he was met with something that caught him dead in his tracks.

Dot.

Standing there with eyes a blaze. Dot had that certain look about her when she was angry. If looks could delete a person, Bob and himself surely would've been deleted repeatedly by now. AndrAIa was standing behind her, with a sheepish albeit apologetic expression on her face. Dot took one step towards the pair of male sprites, Bob momentarily flinched. Matrix, had to feel a little sorry for the guy, he was having enough problems with Dot without this to add to it. He was gearing up, preparing himself for his sister's lecture. Preparing her for her to yell.

"I can't believe you two." Her voice was soft, yet angry, oh so angry.

And that was it, and that in itself was almost worst than lecturing, or yelling. Worse was the heavy silence that filled the room, every pair of eyes was on the drama that was unfolding before them. Matrix turned to the nearest binome, "What are you staring at?"

"N-Nothing, sir."

And the room came to life again, all pretending not have at least have one eye on the sprites. It made Matrix feel a tad bit better; at least he wasn't suffocating in silence any longer.

"Dot, I-"

"I don't want to hear it." Dot cut in (allsheheardwasMegabyte), she was about to turn away from them when she felt a hand on her shoulder. For a moment she thought it was Bob, but instead it was Mouse whom was now addressing the guys.

"Did y'all find out anything?"

Dot, contained a sigh, Mouse was right. She did want to hear this.

Matrix was first to reply, "Not a damn thing."

After giving him a stern look Bob followed up with, "Well not exactly nothing. There's a young sprite girl running around Level 31. It's just—"

"It just most likely has nothing to do with Megabyte at all." Matrix said, there was no denying the cynical tones in his voice.

"Wait, wait hold up a nano. A _sprite_?" Dot said, eye brows raised, and she wasn't the only one that looked surpised AndrAIa and Mouse shared her expression.

"Yes, rather young—"

"—and harmless." Matrix stressed, turning to take a seat in one of the red plastic booths, until of course a flying green blur knocked him right over.

"Tell me I'm not completely offline and basic! I just heard you say there was another young sprite in Mainframe! I haven't gone 8-bit have I? Do you know her name? Age? Is she my age? Where is she?—"

Matrix growled in reply, "Get. Off."

The young sprite hastily complied to the command, however the older of the two looked about ready to throttle his younger self. Almost as if on cue, a VidWindow appeared before Bob displaying the familiar face of Al's Waiter, he looked as though he was in the back of the diner, someplace, semi-private. This, to say the least distracted everyone from their respective tensions, at least for a moment. "... I know you were just down here... But I thought you might wanna know...tha' girl I was talking about is here."

They all exchanged glances, but Enzo grabbed the VidWindow vigorously, "Really? Alphanumeric! Can we talk to her? Can we see her?"

Dot, pulled Enzo away from the window as gently as she could manage, but the young spite had a frim grip on it, "Enzo, come on!"

Al's waiter frowned, and seemed to glance off in the distance around the VidWindow, "Can.... you keep it down? The lass ...doesn't know I contacted you lot. She... might've bolted otherwise..."

"What do you want us to do? Risk our butts again to go down there and grab her?" Matrix scoffed, from his booth, AndrAIa gave him a little shove along with a disapproving glance as she slid in alongside him.

"...Just thought...you might want to know..."

"We'll be there as soon as we can. Keep us posted." Bob said, only waiting to receive a nod from the waiter before closing the window completely. He was well aware of the looks his was getting from some of his comrades and was quick to defend his statement, "Look, I know she might have nothing to do with Megabyte, actually, I can't see why Megabyte would be interested in a young child at all. It doesn't change the fact that she's still in some sort of trouble."

"So, you heard the waiter. That situation is the norm down there." Matrix retorted, "if we take the risk of going down there, we might as well be doing something that would actually hurt that virus."

"I know you want to get at Megabyte, lover. But do you really want us to just leave that poor girl down there?" AndrAIa asked.

"We don't have time to be going to around rescuing every sprite and binome. We should be attacking the route of all these problems"

"Well, I don't agree with that one bit." Mouse jumped in, deciding she wanted in on the conversation, "that's just a bit too cold for my liking."

Matrix grinded his teeth together and looked at his sister for backup, she turned to Bob and attempted to look him in the eye before ultimately loosing heart, "I wont ask you to go against your code."

That was all Bob could ask for from her at this point, he knew he'd have to take things slow, gently, "Thank you, Dot."

"I'll go with you, sugar."

"So will I!!" Enzo pipped in quickly.

"No!" came a chorus of different voices all at once.

"It's dangerous for any one of us, let alone you." Dot tried to soothe the young Enzo, however he looked irate.

"It's not fair! I'm not basic! I can help!"

"_No_, Enzo." Dot said sternly, "You're staying right here."

Her tone carried a certain finality to it. His older sister would not be swayed in any way; which caused anger to swell up inside of him. It only made him want to rebel against her word more, despite the fact that he knew his sister was under a great amount of stress as it was. Without having to worry about him. He could understand it to a certain point, he really could. After all, the city was mostly in control of Megabreath, their father was in said virus's clutches, Phong was injured badly, and to top it off something was going on between her and Bob. However this was his chance to finally interact with someone his own age. Or hopefully rather close to it. Did she understand the loneliness he felt? Didn't she care?

---

The young Enzo was wearing a smug grin on his face, not only did his sister leave him with Hack and Slash, but she had underestimated his ability to talk them into almost anything. It wasn't much of a talent considering the amount of processing speed each of them had. It came with a price of course, they had to accompany him. They weren't exactly the stealthiest pair.

"Watch where you are going!" Hack was shoving Slash away from him.

"I still think this is a bed idea! Dot isn't going to like this one bit"

"No she won't!"

"She will not indeed!"

Perhaps that was an understatement.

"Hey! Keep it down! Do you want Megabyte to come and delete us all?" Enzo scolded them both.

They continued to argue over who was making more noise until Enzo gave them a look and then they both fell silent. They were traveling down a dingy alleyway. Enzo decided to stay on his zipboard to avoid the grime that covered the ground. A frown settled across his green features he didn't think it was possible that Level 31 could look worse than it already had, but somehow, he had been proven wrong. It had gone from slum to complete warzone. There was debris littering the ground mostly from fallen ABCs and CPUs lost in combat. Dot was right, this was no place for anyone to even live let alone visit for any reason, which in his mind was all the more reason he had to get that girl out of here. They were getting close to Al's Eat and Wait, or rather the back door, he couldn't risk Mouse, Bob, or Matrix seeing him. They'd nullify him for sure. He remembered AndrAIa and Matrix taking him there once. AndrAIa had felt sorry for him getting lost in all the marriage preparations.

**Bang!**

Enzo's heart skipped a beat. More because Hack and Slash's yells than anything else.

The heavy back door to Al's Eat and Wait had burst open revealing a frantic girl who had run out. She looked around hurriedly for a quick exit, about to bolt. Enzo urged his zipboard forward, moving slowly as if not to disturb a frightened animal announcing his presence, "Hey, wait!"

The girl whipped around to face him, looking rather shocked. She stood still as if she didn't dare to move. The first thing he notice was how slight her frame was, it was lithe, fit, however it looked as though she hadn't had a decent meal in awhile. On some level it disturbed Enzo that he could tell that just from looking at her. He couldn't tell if she was a little older or younger than he was, her malnourished form was obviously the explanation for that. She was wearing nothing but a small t-shirt dress, it wasn't something someone should be wearing down here, and evidence was littered all over her body. Assorted bruises and cuts painted her pale lavender skin (it almost looked white – so pale) he couldn't decide whether or not it was sickly or not. What really caught his eyes was the smooth sliver hair, the way it moved. It rested just above her shoulders and flared out at the tips, yet it seemed to move subtly as if blown by some unseen breeze. He frowned; all in all the girl didn't look like she was in good shape at all. She gazed at him with steal gray eyes, she was sizing him up.

Was she going to take him on? She surely wasn't in anyway dangerous, not in that condition. He got off his zipboard and motioned for Hack and Slash to stay where they would, he didn't want them spooking her. He moved in a few steps closer...

"Stay where you are." The girl said her face serious.

Even if she wasn't dangerous, something in her voice sounded fierce. _She's scared of me?_ The girl would never come back with him in this state. He complied to her request, he feared she'd try and harm him otherwise. Enzo needed to get this girl to trust him, he had a vague idea of what to do, what to try. He saw it on the Mainframe Strolling Players' show _The True Stories of MainFrame_. The episodes when Matrix first met AndrAIa. Of course this was a somewhat different situation (or at least that's what he told himself)

"Don't be scared." Enzo said trying to keep his voice as soothing as possible, mimicking the voice Bob used on Dot sometimes, "I'm a Guardian. I'm here to help you."

A white lie. An almost truth. He was going to the Guardian Academy in the Super Computer after all. Her face clouded into something unreadable, before warily shaking her head,

"I dont know what that is."

Well that plan was a fail and a half. Part of him even wanted to yell and ask her if she was basic, however of course he refrained from doing so. He was at a loss for words, so he stood there and gaped at her. She looked confused, tilting her head to the side momentarily.

Until her gray eyes widened in fear.

"Uh, Enzo!" Slash called.

"We have an itsy bitsy problem." Hack said

"Hello, Delivery Boy."

---

End 003


End file.
